Tag: BRADLEY

Bradley Beal is one of two players in the league with a complete no-trade clause in his contract, so fans thought that, in the unlikely event that the Suns don’t perform well, the franchise would be stuck with an overpaid star.

As it turns out, that’s exactly what happened.

Where can Beal be traded?

Beal has complete control of the Suns’ situation. He reportedly will only play for the Miami Heat, Denver Nuggets, and Los Angeles Lakers. That eliminates pretty much any team that could conceivably add him, and even teams that could trade for him might not want to.

“People say, well, Detroit would take him,” said ESPN’s Bobby Marks..

“I don’t think so, man. Charlotte would take him? You’re not taking 57 million or 53 million unless you’re getting a lot back. That just doesn’t, that just doesn’t make sense here. So it’s a fascinating situation because it’s not going to get much better in Phoenix next year.”

The Pistons could use an established shot creator, and the Hornets are just a good financial fit, but would Beal waive his no-trade clause to go to Detroit or Charlotte? Absolutely not, so the discussion isn’t even worth having. The Lakers and Heat are the only realistic suitors, but LA would have to give up a prized player to add him, and that wouldn’t be worth it.

The Suns are in a bad situation long term

Even with the Beal dilemma, it’s hard to argue that he, Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant are not high-level players. Booker has drawn some interest on the trade market, but the Suns aren’t excited to part with him. Each one of the “Big Three” will make $53 million or more next season, and after that, Beal has a player option for $57 million. It’s hard to imagine him turning it down.

With no draft capital, no financial flexibility, and a 19-20 record on the season so far, Phoenix is in a bad place with no way out.

“We might be doing this podcast a year from now and you’d be like, what’s going on with the Suns?” predicted Marks.

“I’ll be like, Groundhog Day right there, guys are going to be older, they’re still going to have one first-round pick to trade.

“They’re still going to be in the second apron. They’re still going to pay a record high, maybe $500 million in luxury tax and penalty. And they’re going to have hard decisions to make as far as if they have to pivot off this.

“And if you pivot off it, whether it be Durant, let’s say, the likelihood is that Beal is still gonna be on your roster, right? Like that’s just the reality of it here.”

Plenty of teams have made massive moves with the hopes of finding success. The Brooklyn Nets added Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving and never made the Finals, the Sixers did the same with Harden and Joel Embiid, and the Los Angeles Clippers broke the bank for Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.

The Suns are just the latest team to mortgage their future for a bleak present.

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